2007:447 - Nangor Road, Clondalkin, Dublin

Testing was carried out at Nangor Road, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, as part of pre-planning assessment. The proposed development site is located inside the western boundary of the zone of archaeological potential for Clondalkin. Three test-trenches, 1.3m wide and totalling an overall length of 61m, were excavated to the natural subsoil or to the top of potential archaeological remains, whichever was encountered first.
The natural subsoil was a compact gritty mottled yellow/brown that contained occasional large stones. Above this there was a light-yellow/brown clay layer, c. 0.3m thick, which was similar in colour to the natural. The northern part of the site has been artificially built up using shale and stone in a mid-brown matrix to a height of 0.75–1m. Further south the gradient of the site increases naturally and this layer is absent. In the north-western part of the site one of the uppermost contexts was a thick humic layer. The site was sealed by a series of hardcore layers, the compaction and thickness of which varied over the site.
The remains of a structure of probable late 19th/early 20th-century date were found in Trench 3. They consisted of a series of mortared stone walls, which may represent cellarage or foundations, and a paved surface. These remains may correspond to structures depicted along the northern site boundary on the first-edition 6-inch OS map. While there is always the possibility of earlier structures underlying such material, it does not appear to be the case here. The trench was excavated to subsoil except for the area of the flagged surface, which measured 3.5m in length.